Conservationists outraged by Hodgman move to log moratorium forests

“Logging 400,000 hectares of forests that were promised reserves under the Tasmanian Forest Agreement will push rare and endangered species closer to extinction from the rainforests of the Tarkine to the critically endangered Swift Parrot habitat of Wielangta and further entrench Tasmania’s logging shame fuelled by taxpayers money,” Bob Brown Foundation’s Campaign Manager Jenny Weber said.

“In the Tarkine more than 100,000 hectares are in these moratorium forests, rich habitat for quolls, devils and the giant freshwater crayfish. The benefits from secure long-term protection of these forests for the climate, economy and environment far outweigh the losses Tasmania feels from its unsustainable logging practices,” Jenny Weber said.

“Hodgman’s drive to log Tasmania’s unique forests is causing widespread clearfelling every day across Tasmania. Logging the 400,000 hectares of high conservation value forests across the state is at the behest of Forestry Tasmania and Ta Ann, a controversial Sarawak timber giant, and will mean further ruin for forest dependent endangered species, Tasmania’s fragile economy and any effort to mitigate climate change impacts,” Jenny Weber said.